Bill Paesano, left, and partner Will Murphy hold the newly published book by a nationally known author, in which they get several mentions as mantiquers of note. (John Nolan/Times photo)

ROCHESTER — Some men feel their masculinity has been under attack ever since the ascendency of the feminist movement, but these days there is an antidote for these poor fellows — the man cave.

The man cave is a room or section of a home — set aside usually by mutual agreement in the case of a married couple — that is the sole preserve of the man of the house, and devoted to manly pursuits like watching ball games, smoking cigars, bonding with buddies, enjoying a six-pack and burping without a raised eyebrow waiting for the “Pardonez moi!”

The modern man cave, too, is no longer likely to be a drafty garage, or a leaky shed at the bottom of the garden, but a comfortable, if untidy, room in the home. Furthermore, because the woman of the house is likely the one with the final say on decoration and furniture, the strictly off-limits man cave is adorned with items that appeal to him.

This is where mantiques, one of the fastest growing areas of the antique trade, come in — and, as luck would have it, Rochester has its very own pair of mantique experts, whose store is on Union Street.

The growing national reputation of Bill Paesano and his partner Will Murphy has won them several mentions in a book just published in May. It is call “Mantiques — a Manly Guide to Cool Stuff,” and has been written by the highly respected Eric Bradley, who is also responsible for the antiquer’s bible, “Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide 2014.”

Paesano and Murphy, writes Bradley, “specialize in decking out man caves, recreation and media rooms and even offices, as co-owners of Mantiquers and PorcelainNeonSigns.com of Rochester. The two quit their stable and profitable jobs to haggle, prowl junk yards and salvage in the rain.”

He includes their Union Street store as the only New Hampshire stop in a mantiquing tour of America.

The pair have been at their Union Street location since June 2011, opening their store with pooled capital of $2,000. They saw the niche for a guys’ market and have been busy ever since.

“There are lots of stores for girls, and guys get bored in them. Now it is the opposite. A guy will come in here with his wife, and before long she’ll cross the street to Union Street Antiques and Collectibles,” said Paesano, generously giving a neighboring business a plug.

“We sell stuff so fast it is hard to keep it in, and 90 percent of our sales never come into the store,” he added.

They have a long client list and will personally deliver purchased mantiques to customers at no cost.

Bill and Will, as they are know, have supplied items for the TV show Oddities on the Science Channel, and delivered mantiques — in this case an old gas pump and a couple of signs — to the set of Columbia Pictures’ “Grown Ups 2,” which stars Adam Sandler and Chris Rock.

“I think that is one reason why we are in the Mantiques book,” said Paesano, showing the author’s inscription in their personal copy. It reads, “To Bill and Will. The Manliest Men in Mantiques.”

“We enjoy the hunt. We are new age pirates trying to find the gold,” he said.